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Could a Visa Auction Fix Immigration?
Thu, 05/17/2012 - 18:05 — adminNational Journal
May 17, 2012
The plan would go like this: Companies that want to hire immigrants would bid for a number of visas made available by Congress. They could trade or resell the permits. Immigrants could move between companies as needed.
This plan -- which would be rolled out in phases, starting with a pilot program that would auction off temporary work visas, including those for some agricultural and technical work --could simplify and streamline today’s lumbering immigration system, according to Giovanni Peri, a professor at the University of California Davis. His proposal was released Tuesday by the Brookings Institution.
The visa auction would generate revenue for the federal government, which could be used to compensate communities that extend social services to immigrants or on training for American workers, according to the report.
U.S. Bill to Hike Visas for Science Grads; Indian Students to Gain
Thu, 05/17/2012 - 17:50 — adminFirstpost. World
May 17, 2012
Senator John Cornyn, the senior Republican on a panel that oversees immigration, introduced a bill on Tuesday that would make an additional 55,000 visas available each year for foreign graduates with Master’s and doctoral degrees who have studied at US universities.
The bill, called the “STAR Act of 2012,” would create the new visas for foreign graduates from American universities holding Masters degrees or Ph.Ds in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields by allowing them to opt for dual intent when entering the US.
Cornyn’s bill could be a windfall for Indian students who typically come to the US in large numbers to study in the STEM fields. According to the ‘Open Doors 2010-11′ report brought out by the Washington-based Institute of International Education, there are 1,04,000 Indian students in America. A high 61 percent of these students are graduate students, most in STEM fields. India and China have been sending the highest number of students to the US over the last decade.
Lawmakers Want High-Tech Foreigners to Stay in the U.S.
Thu, 05/17/2012 - 16:43 — adminMashable
May 16, 2012
Top American universities attract some of the planet’s brightest minds to pursue graduate degrees in the U.S. But thousands of those best and brightest head for the exits almost immediately after they complete their academic programs.
Why? American student visas only allow foreigners to stay in the U.S. for the duration of their education program and no longer.
Two lawmakers are fed up with that rule, arguing that kicking highly skilled, entrepreneurial people out of the U.S. and back to countries such as China and India is costing jobs and hurting the American economy.
Senator Seeks Expanded Visas for Foreign High-Tech Workers
Wed, 05/16/2012 - 16:55 — adminReuters
May 15, 2012
A leading Republican in the Senate on Tuesday unveiled legislation to raise the number of temporary visas for skilled technical workers from foreign countries, but prospects of passage this year could be clouded by election-year politics.
Senator John Cornyn, the senior Republican on a panel that oversees immigration, introduced a bill that would make an additional 55,000 visas available each year for graduates with master's and doctoral degrees who have studied at U.S. research institutions.
This is one of several immigration-related bills that could be kicked around this year in Congress and in the presidential campaign. But there is scant evidence so far of enough consensus to get anything enacted into law.
Other measures could focus on trying to help children of illegal immigrants who want to attend U.S. colleges or serve in the U.S. military.
Snyder: Immigrants, Native Michiganders Can Help State Lead Nation in Talent
Wed, 05/16/2012 - 16:49 — adminMLive
May 15, 2012
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder delivered a big message to a small group of new Chrysler Group LLC employees Monday: You are the state’s greatest assets.
“One of the huge things that we’re really working hard (on) that I think we’re going to help lead the nation in is talent,” Snyder told the 45 or so employees at the automaker’s headquarters in Auburn Hills. “That’s the greatest asset we have in Michigan, even more than the Great Lakes.”
Snyder said people in Michigan, including foreigners who come here to study, can help grow jobs and lead the the state’s turnaround.
VIDEO: Bloomberg Rep: Outdated Immigration Laws Stifle Economic Development
Tue, 05/15/2012 - 11:25 — adminLong Island Wins
May 14, 2012
In addition to the sector leaders who gathered to discuss immigration policy last month at the Long Island Regional Immigration Summit, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg sent a representative from his office to talk about the importance of reforming our outdated immigration laws to attract entrepreneurial talent from around the world.
Robert Feldstein is the senior advisor for policy and strategic planning in the mayor’s office, and works with Bloomberg’s Partnership for a New American Economy, a bipartisan initiative to unite business stakeholders in support of immigration reform. Even Rupert Murdoch is a fan.
Hear Feldstein talk about how emerging industries are moving abroad, and how immigration reform could help create an entrepreneurial culture in places like Long Island:
U.S. Educated Immigrants Return to their Homelands
Mon, 05/14/2012 - 12:57 — adminThe Fiscal Times
May 14, 2012
Demographers were stunned last month when new data revealed a trend reversal: immigrants are no longer flocking to the U.S., and some have made a U-turn and returned home. Data from the Internal Revenue Service show that 1,800 people, mostly living abroad, either renounced their U.S. citizenship or handed in their green cards—more than the total number of people who did so in 2007, 2008, and 2009 combined. A few made the choice to avoid paying U.S. taxes on income earned abroad, but others are seeking greener pastures in the global economy.
With the U.S. facing a shortage of skilled workers, the wave of immigrants who are turning their backs on America is foreboding. A growing population of highly-educated Americans and foreign nationals educated in the states are less committed to living and working in the U.S., preferring to return to their homelands, many of which are emerging economies.
“It’s only really come to light in the last year or two, but we’re noticing a pattern of highly-skilled children of foreign-born U.S. immigrants leaving the U.S. for the countries where their parents were born,” said Madeleine Sumption, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute. Sumption says the trend is strong in China, India and Brazil where dramatic economic growth over the last decade has opened up opportunities for entrepreneurship and led U.S. multinationals to hire overseas employees with western educations. “We’re putting together a picture of what’s happening partly from data and partly from anecdotal evidence since it’s a relatively new phenomenon.”
A Sensible Approach to Immigration
Mon, 05/14/2012 - 12:48 — adminTampa Bay Online
May 14, 2012
United States immigration issues are so complex and divisive that when a lawmaker poses a sensible solution to at least one problem area, Congress would be foolish not to adopt it.
This, in essence, is the approach being taken by Sens. Jerry Moran of Kansas and Mark Warner of Virginia. They have authored the Startup Act, which would help U.S. businesses fill a major jobs void, allow the nation to capitalize on the talents of foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges, and encourage legal visitors to start businesses here.
It's important to point out that Moran is a Republican, and Warner is a Democrat. Considering the two major parties' remarkably conflicting views on illegal immigration issues, it's significant that these two lawmakers have joined together to produce worthwhile legislation.
Expand Work Visas for Top Foreign Talent
Mon, 05/14/2012 - 12:39 — adminKansas City Star
May 13, 2012
Each year, Washington awards visas to immigrants who bring skills and qualifications prized by high-tech companies. This is an eminently sensible policy, since highly trained immigrants add greatly to the nation’s stock of human capital and as a group, they have a high propensity to start companies of their own. That creates more jobs for Americans.
There’s one problem. The number of these special visas, called H1-Bs, is too low — only 65,000, with 20,000 more awarded each year to foreign students with master’s degrees or higher from a U.S. university.
Those numbers don’t begin to meet demand from tech firms hungry for new talent. In 2009, the annual quota was filled in less than a week. The year before, all the H1-Bs were snatched up in a single day.
Verification for Job Applicants is Needed, but Mandating E-Verify is Not the Answer
Mon, 05/14/2012 - 12:20 — adminThe Washington Post
May 13, 2012
Americans of all political stripes agree: As a nation of immigrants, we value and welcome immigrants who want to become American citizens, because it’s good for our economy and for our country.
Strange, then, that Congress is on the verge zeroing out funding for programs that encourage citizenship — for the second straight year.
When he announced his budget proposal Feb. 13, the president requested $11 million for grant programs that help bring citizenship within reach for our newest Americans. Recognizing the benefits to all of us when new Americans contribute fully to our society, Congress has funded such programs before, beginning with the George W. Bush administration.